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Mumbai Film Festival Unveils Lineup

Over 200 films will be screened at the event's 14th edition, including competition titles such as Walter Salles' "On The Road," as well as David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis."

NEW DELHI - Over 200 films from 65 countries will be screened at the 14th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival that will run from Oct.18-25. Organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images, MFF is co-sponsored by Reliance Entertainment and American Express.

The total prize money is $220,000 which this year includes a new competition section - India Gold 2012 - where 13 Indian language films by debutant directors will compete for a $31,000 prize.

This year's film lineup across various categories and competition sections include Walter Salles' On The Road, Won't Back Down from the U.S., Neighbouring Sounds from Brazil, Maddened By His Absence from France, Stories We Tell from Canada, The Hunt and A Royal Affair from Denmark, Me and You from Italy, The Angels’ Share from the U.K., Taboor from Iran, Renoir from France, David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis and Michael Haneke's Amour which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

“This is the best festival yet and this has been possible due to the support we have been receiving from our sponsors... we are pleased to screen numerous award winning films, all of which are Indian premieres,” said MFF director Srinivasan Narayanan.

The International Competition jury will be headed by director Andy Tennant (Hitch) and include Korean director Im Sang-soo, Indian actor Rahul Bose, French editor Pascale Chovance and Brazilian director Sergio Machado.Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Anand Gandhi’s Ship Of Theseus (which premiered at Toronto) and Wayne Blair’s The Sapphires are among the 13 films selected for the International Competition for first-time feature directors (full list below).

To celebrate 100 years of Indian film, the festival will screen a package of restored silent films – including the very first Indian film 1913's Raja Harischandra - accompanied by a live orchestra.

Rendezvous With French Cinema returns for a second year featuring a package of titles such as Jacques Audiar's Rust & Bone. Another section will trace the history of Italian cinema featuring classics like 1913's Quo Vadis? by Enrico Guazzoni. MFF will also include a section devoted to films from Afghanistan.

Veteran Bollywood actress Waheeda Rehman will be given the Lifetime Achievement award while MFF will pay homage to late actors Dara Singh, Rajesh Khanna and A K Hangal.

The series of master classes will include a session on direction by Andy Tennant, creative production by Gary Kurtz, acting by veteran Bollywood actress Jaya Bachchan, editing by Pascale Chovance and cinematography by Declan Quinn.

A special panel discussion on film restoration and preservation will include representatives from Twentieth Century Fox, Film Foundation, World Cinema Foundation and the Academy Film Archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Cinemascapes will bring together filmmakers with location service providers and national and international agencies during the festival.

Following its launch last year, MFF will return with its Film Mart offering a platform for sales of Indian films to non-traditional markets like Latin America, the Far East and Eastern Europe.

“Much like the festival itself the Mart too has grown. Last year we facilitated some record breaking deals. This year we see the attendance of key players from non-traditional markets with buyers including Wowow, Nikatsu, Happinet Corp in addition to film sales agents such as Fandango Portabello, MK2, Tanweer, Celluloid Dreams and The Festival Agency,” said Reliance Entertainment chairman and MAMI trustee Amit Khanna.

MFF will be held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) located in South Mumbai along with some cinemas in other parts of the city. “NCPA is the best place to hold this festival... Hopefully the NCPA will become a permanent venue for the festival,” said MAMI chairman and veteran film-maker Shyam Benegal.

2012 Mumbai Film Festival : International Competition for the First Feature Films of Directors -